With the first year implementation of higher standards in Tennessee, academic achievement dipped as expected in Hamilton County with scores dropping, county school officials said. However, the district’s 4-year ontime graduation rate jumped 13 percent.
The Tennessee Department of Education released the 2010 Report Card for the Hamilton County Department of Education today. The Report Card details Adequate Yearly Progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act and academic achievement. Hamilton County received Cs in Academic Achievement and three Ds and one B in student academic progress.
The graduation rate increased to 80.2%, and Ooltewah High School made AYP, so it comes off the High Priority List.
With regard to No Child Left Behind, schools are rated for Adequate Yearly Progress in terms of their achievement on the 2010 tests. As such, 26 Hamilton County schools did not meet federal benchmarks this year. Of these 26 schools, 16 will be on the state’s High Priority List (School Improvement I to State Takeover) with another 10 in Target status. However, three schools on the state’s high priority list in 2009 did make AYP this year: Calvin Donaldson, Howard School and Ooltewah High School.
Ooltewah High School celebrates several years of hard work and moves into Good Standing this year, it was stated. Calvin Donaldson and Howard School both made AYP this year and move into improving status. This is the first year in Howard’s history that it has made AYP. If both schools continue to make progress next year, they will officially come off the state’s high priority list.
East Lake Elementary, Battle Academy, Bess T. Shepherd Elementary and Red Bank Middle School also made AYP and move back into Good Standing (from Target status in 2009).
The way the state calibrated test scores changed dramatically in 2009 as the Tennessee implemented higher standards this year, officials noted. Academic Achievement grades are based on a bell curve for the last three years.
“As this is the first year where the higher standards are being measured, we were expecting this drop in the percentage of students who scored proficient and advanced,” said Superintendent Dr. Jim Scales. “However, we made amazing strides in increasing our graduation rate, decreasing suspensions and maintaining positive attendance, all major hurdles for the district in the past.”
Positives from the 2010 Report Card also included:
• Students continued to demonstrate strong writing skills scoring 4.1 to 4.2 out of 6
• Dropout rate declined 30% from 19.1% to 13.5%.
Other results were:
• Academic Achievement scores for Grades 3-8 were all Cs (same as the state).
• The district K-8 attendance held steady at 94.9% with the high schools climbing to 92.2%.
• The percentage of 3-8 students scoring proficient and advanced in reading was 48%.
• The percentage of 3-8 students scoring proficient and advanced in math was 38%.
• The percentage of high school students scoring proficient and advanced on the Algebra I Gateway/EOC was 67%
• The percentage of high school students scoring proficient and advanced on the English II Gateway/EOC was 68%.
“There is no doubt the higher standards are tougher for our students. While these scores are lower than we would like to see, we must continue to challenge our students and be competitive nationally,” said Board of Education Chairman Everett Fairchild. “We are very proud of the work our students and teachers are doing in every classroom in Hamilton County.”
Academic Achievement
The 2010 Report Card is based on student performance in the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program administered in Spring 2010. Students in grades 3-8 are measured based on reading and math scores from the state standardized test. High school achievement is based on scores in math (a blend of End of Course, Gateway and portfolio exams) and English (a blend of End of Course and Gateway exams). 2010 marked the first year the state’s more rigorous standards were implemented and tested.
Student scores are reported in one of four areas:
• Advanced = Student demonstrates superior mastery in academic performance
• Proficient = Student demonstrates mastery in academic performance
• Basic = Student demonstrates partial mastery in academic performance
• Below Basic = Student does not demonstrate mastery in academic performance
Approximately 38% of students in grades 3-8 were proficient or advanced in Math with 48% being proficient or advanced in Reading/Language Arts plus writing. These scores, while low, are in keeping with what the district expected with the implementation of the higher standards.
“What was considered proficient in the past is now closer to Basic. Advanced scores from previous years are closer to the new Proficient,” Dr. Scales said. “These scores are a realistic view of how our students compare to their counterparts around the country. And while we did relatively well for the first year of implementation of the rigorous standards, we still have a lot of work to do.”
The Report Card also details information about student demographics, attendance, promotion rates, graduation rates, dropout rates, test scores, writing assessments, ACT results and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) school status/standards.
Value Added
Each year, the Report Card includes a grade, from A-F, for both academic achievement and student improvement (Value Added).
Academic achievement is based on scores on standardized tests. Value Added scores measure student progress within each grade (3-8) and subject from one year to the next. The state’s average for Value Added growth is represented with a “C” grade.
The way Value Added grades were calibrated changed dramatically in 2009, officials said. The 2010 Value Added scores are the new baseline for future academic growth.
Hamilton County received three Ds and one B in Value Added in 2010
Graduation Rate
Hamilton County’s four-year on-time graduation rate climbed 13% to 80.2%.
Officials said, "This amazing increase is due to hard work by teachers and staff at the high schools. In response to the low graduation rate in 2009, Hamilton County organized a community-wide graduation summit to discuss the issue and brainstorm possible solutions to the dropout crisis. Graduation teams were created for each high school, with staff assigned to support fragile students as they continued to work towards graduation.
"Additionally, credit recovery programs were put into place that helped many students graduate who otherwise would have not made the four-year timeline.
"The district’s four-year cohort drop-out rate also declined. Again, the focus on limiting dropouts, maximizing credit recovery and sheltering fragile students through the graduation process factored into this drop."
Dr. Scales said, “Increasing the graduation rate and reducing dropouts was our top challenge. Our principals, staff and students rose to the task and did an amazing job. We know that without a high school
diploma our students cannot be successful. While we have come a long way, we are not done. We must continue to emphasize how important it is for students to graduate high school.”
He added, "While the results of the 2010 Report Card are what the district had been expecting in light of the more rigorous standards, there remains work to be done. Students continue to achieve and grow in their learning while schools continue to focus on individualized student success. Hamilton County Schools also continues to implement programs designed to help the district achieve the goals outlined in the Strategic Plan 2011. Test score data is one tool the district uses to help refine curriculum and instruction at the building level so that all students and schools can continue to achieve.
“We know we have our challenges, and we are putting programs and processes in place to address them. The new standards are harder, but they are good for kids. We need to get kids from point A to point B on time and with the skill set that enables them to be successful. We need to do a better job educating our economically disadvantaged and minority students in this district. We must also continue to increase the number of students who graduate each year while reducing dropouts. We accept these challenges, and we will get it done.”